Smarter than the average charger

~ Medical devices increase demand for smart battery and charger solutions ~

Accutronics will showcase its skills in the design, development and manufacturing of medical batteries and smart chargers at COMPAMED 2013, in Dusseldorf. The technology used by the Newcastle-under-Lyme provider of battery solutions allows intelligent communication between the battery and charger. This increases the device’s safety, reduces charge time and maximises battery life. Compamed will take place between November 20 and November 22, Accutronics can be found in Hall 8b Stand F30. 

A smart charger contains a microprocessor designed to communicate with smart batteries that have embedded microchips. Accutronics’ smart batteries and chargers are used worldwide in devices such as ventilators, nebulisers, patient monitors and endoscopy data recorders.

The technology ensures that the battery remains in control, only requesting voltage and current from the charger when it needs it. This ensures that the battery will not be overcharged and saves energy.

Another significant advantage of Accutronics’ smart charger technology is that it is chemistry independent, which means that it doesn’t need to be upgraded as new generation batteries are released. This is particularly important in a field where technology is evolving fast and the incompatibility of different generation products is a common problem.

The company’s smart chargers are flexible in both design and use. They can be developed to accept either low voltage direct current (DC) or alternate current (AC) supply. Furthermore, single or multiple bay solutions are possible, depending on customer requirements.

“Accutronics develops specific custom batteries and chargers for its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers through its AccuPro service,” explained Rob Phillips, managing director of Accutronics. “Our aim is to offer tailored solutions for professional high technology markets, such as the medical and healthcare sectors.

“In an ideal situation, Accutronics would work with the customer from the early stages of product development and create a customised solution for each individual project,” continued Phillips. “However, we also have the Entellion product range which provides off the shelf solutions, saving our customers time and cost. Our credit card and VR420 battery range together with our recently released, modular, Intelligent Power Vault® are examples of Entellion in practice.

“The former delivers high power in a compact, credit card sized unit, while the latter incorporates the latest Lithium-ion smart battery technology, intelligent charging circuitry and efficient regulated power control in a high energy, rechargeable battery system that is easily designed into medical devices and power backup equipment.”

Custom batteries

At Accutronics, we have standard batteries to suit almost any new portable device, but we also recognise that many applications are unable to accommodate standard batteries and require a custom battery to be designed instead. 

To this end, Accutronics has rebranded its design and manufacturing activities as Accupro, a service which provides both custom batteries and chargers to OEMs in professional markets.

When standard off-the-shelf batteries will not suffice, most battery manufacturers will suggest modifications to a product’s design. At Accutronics however, we work with the OEM to create truly outstanding battery solutions which provide tangible end user benefits in terms of low weight, minimal volume and ease of use.

Correct cell selection is critical in achieving optimal battery and device performance and we can help customers select the right cell for each application, optimising characteristics such as capacity, rate capability, cycle life and thermal performance.

Whilst batteries come in all shapes and sizes and a range of chemistries, you may often need a solution tailored to meet a specific application need.

With the Accupro service, Accutronics offer all of the commercially available rechargeable battery chemistries, but it is Lithium ion proves most popular given its high degree of safety and high volumetric and gravimetric energy density. Depending on the requirements of the application, Accutronics engineers will select from cells with different cathode formulations to provide the best mix of performance attributes. Cathode formations such as pure cobalt (LiCoO2) for high energy, Nickel Manganese Cobalt (Li(NiMnCo)O2) for rate capability, safety and cost or Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) for outstanding cycle life and power delivery are amongst the selections available to Accutronics engineers when developing any new battery under the Accupro brand.

Accupro embedded intelligent electronic systems allow batteries to manage their own charging both efficiently and safely while on-board fuel gauges provide equipment with accurate real time runtime information to ensure the best performance from your battery.

Accupro caters for all sizes of battery, from the smallest single cell solution with simple electronic protection through to large high voltage batteries with active cell balancing, impedance tracking fuel gauging and tiered protection systems. There are no brown-outs at peaks of demand, no failure of critical components at extremes of temperature and no oversized PCBs taking up space and making the battery (and your device) larger than it needs to be.

Accupro uses the latest digital prototyping techniques to get the design to market quickly. Accutronics performs finite element analysis (FEA) of the CAD models and employs 3D printing technologies such as stereolithography (SLA) or selective laser sintering (SLS) equipment to generate physical prototypes. Mould flow simulation is used to test and validate the injection moulding design prior to tooling.